Combination latch and dead bolt



June 4, 1957 w. F. GRODT EIAL 2,794,663

CGMBINATION LATCH AND DEAD BOLT Filed July 5. 1955 INVENTORS 14 21.; mM F 62007 (June/.55 5. M/LLEe g 4/ 9'. fitter/Z57 United. States COMBINATION LATCH AND DEAD BOLT William F. Grodt, Downey, and Charles S. Miller, Los Angeles, Calif assignors to Arrowsmith Tool D12 Corporation, Los Angeles, Caiifl, a corporation 1):. California Application July 5, 1955, Serial No. 519,962

1 Claim. (Cl. 292-67) This invention relates to latches for gates or doors and more particularly to a latch which can be bolted, and rf desired, locked, by a simple shifting operation. In ts preferred form, the latch employs a flat latch bar which hasa 90 twist at an intermediate point so as to provide a vertically disposed bolt section for engaging the catch and the bolt slot, and "a horizontally disposed lever section adapted to swing vertically in a fulcrum plate, said lever section being provided with two notches for locating said latch bar in latching or bolting positions.

It is a major object of this invention to provide an inexpensive latch which can be manufactured in quantity out of relatively simple metal stampings, or the like, without need for precision parts. Many such latches have been manufactured in the past, but most of these were not adapted to be bolted and locked, or if they were, they involved relatively expensive bolting mechanisms. Some simple latches, While adapted to be locked, require considerable skill to assemble and mount, and must be carefully aligned during mounting. Others achieve the adjustable feature of either latching or bolting only by the use of relatively complex assemblies of castor die cast parts.

The present invention makes use of an improvement on the simple basic type of latch in which a latch bar adapted to swing in a plane parallel to the door surface engages a catch on the door frame and drops into a holding notch when the door is closed. Such a latch is usually operated from the outside of the door by means of a trip bar passing through a hole in the door and engaging the latch bar so as to make'possible lifting it from the side opposite to that on which the latch bar is mounted. It will be understood, of course, that the term door is here used to include any gate or swinging panel hinged along one edge and adapted to swing to closure, ora position which may be referred to as closure, with the swinging edge adjacent a stationary door frame member. It will also be understood that the door frame is stationary relative to the swing of the door and not necessarily stationary relative to surrounding objects. The line along which the doors swinging edge falls into alignment with the door frame in closed position will be referred to herein as the closure line. At closure, the latch bar projects across the closure line and engages a catch plate mounted on the adjacent staitonary door frame member when the door is swung to a closed position. The face of the door on which the latch assembly is mounted will hereafter be referred to as the inner side. The door face opposite to that-on which the latch is mounted will be hereafter referred to as the outer side.

In the present invention the latch bar is adapted to shift longitudinally into either of two positions, an ordinary latching position, =and a bolted position in which it is capable of being locked by means of an ordinary padlock. This shift may be readily accomplished from the inner side by manually pushing the lever or handle end of the latch bar toward the door, against the resist- Patented June 4, 1957 ance of a retaining spring, so as to release an engaging notch on the edge of the latch bar and permit it to be shifted longitudinally to a second notch which locates it in the alternative position. The catch bracket with which the latch bar engages serves a double purpose, functioning both as catch and as bolt receiver.

The various advantages of this invention will be understood from the following description of a specific embodiment which is illustrated in the drawings, in which:

Figure l is a perspective view of the latch assembly and catch as seen from the inner side of the door and door frame member, the latter being shown in section only;

Figure 1A is a perspective view of a fragment of the latching assembly, showing the latch bar in the process of shifting from one position to another;

Figures 2 and 3 are elevational plan views of the latch in latching and bolting positions respectively;

Figure 4 is a side elevational view of the latch assembly as seen in the direction of arrows 4-4 in Figure 2;

Figure 5 is a perspective view of the catch member mounted in masonry; and

Figure 6 is a plan View of the latch and catch mounted on an outward swinging gate. I

In Figure l a door ltl is shown in closed position with respect to a stationary frame member 11. The swinging edge of the door 1% is positioned in alignment with the edge of a frame member 11 at the lien of closure 13, which may be said to coincide with the small clearance space betwene the swinging edge and the adjacent surface of the door frame member 11. A latching assembly indicated generally by the numeral 14 is shown mounted on the inner side 15 of door it), and a catch member 16 is shown mounted on the inner side 17 of frame member 11. latching assembly 14 is comprised principally of a latch support bracket 18 and a latch bar 19, which extends transversely across closure line 13 and is seen resting in a catch notch 20 in the upper part of a catch plate 21 comprising a part of catch member 16. Preferably, catch plate 21 is in a plane normal to latch bar 19 as it swings with door 10 toward closure position, a direction which is clockwise as indicated by arrow 22 in the view of Figure l. Latch bar 19 is lifted into the catch notch 20, as it swings to closed position, by the inclined surface of striker plate 23 located upswing from the notch.

Catch member 16 is also provided with a bolt plate 24, which is provided with a bolt slot 25 adapted to receive the end of the latch bar 19 when that bar is shifted to bolting position as will be described hereinafter. Catch member 15 is formed to be mounted several ways; its lower half duplicates the upper half so that it may be inverted and mounted to engage a door swinging from the opposite direction.

Latch bar 19 is supported in latch support 18 by means of a fulcrum plate 26 and a guide plate 27. I

An alternate catch mounting is illustrated in Figure 6, which indicates a gate which swings open as indicated by the arrow 53. Catch 16a engages latch bar 19 during latching action exactly as in the case of the inwardly swinging gate already described in connection with Figures 1 to 5, except that catch 16a has been turned around so that striker plate 23 is pointing toward the inner face of gate lila upon which the latching assembly 14 is mounted. Also, the mounting shown in. Figure 6 requires that a recess 54, seen in dashed lines, be provided in door frame member 11a in order to receive the end of latch bar 19 when it is shifted into bolting position.

The latch bar 19 may be considered as divided at an intermediate point into a vertically disposed latching section 28 and a horizontally disposed lever section 29,

the two sections being joined by a 90 twist 30. The latch bar 19 can be swung in a vertical plane about a fulcrum slot 31 in fulcrum plate 26, was to disengage vertically disposed latching section 23 from catch notch 20. The latching section 28 is guided in this vertical Swinging movement by a vertical guide slot 32 in the guide plate 27. Preferably, the lever end of the latch bar 19 is formed into a handle 33 for convenience in latching operation and shifting the latch bar 19 to a bolting position.

The latch bar 19 may be lifted from the outer side of door 19 by means of a trip bar 34. Conveniently, the trip bar 34 is pivoted at a pivot pin 35 in the upper end of a handle 36 mounted on the outer side of the door so that a thumb plate 37 may be easily depressed, thus causingthe opposite end of the trip bar 34 to swing upward and lift the latch bar 19 out of engagement with catch notch 20. Free vertical swinging of trip bar 34 is assured by an enlarged cylindrical bore 33 through door 10 and a vertical slot 39 in the latch support bracket 18. The

latch bar 19 is located longitudinally in latching position by engagement of the notch it) with fulcrum plate 26. A small spring member 41 mounted on latch support 18 presses against the edge of lever section 29 of latch bar 19 on the side opposite the locating notch 49 so as to retain the notch 40 in engaging position. However, the spring 41 is yielding and there is sufiicient clearance for it in its opening in fulcrum plate 26 so that latch bar 19 may be disengaged by moving it horizontally toward the inner side of door 10, and depressing the spring 41, so as to permit longitudinal shifting of latch bar 19 in a direction which is to the left as illustrated in Figure 1A, until a notch 42 is engaged by the fulcrum plate 26, at which time latch bar 19 is in bolting position.

The lever section 29 is pierced at 43 with a hole large enough to receive the hasp of an ordinary padlock, so that when latch bar 19 is shifted to bolting position with its latching end inserted in the bolt slot 25, a padlock, which may be conveniently stored as indicated at 43 by means of a hole 44 in the fulcrum plate 26, may be used to lock the latch bar 19 in bolting position. Figure 2 shows the position of latch bar 19 and positioning slots 4!) and 42 when the combination latch and dead bolt is functioning as an ordinary latch. The position illustrated is that in which the latch bar 19 should be retained whenever the door 19 is to be opened or closed or when it is to be left closed in an unlocked and unbolted condition. When it is desired to bolt or bolt and lock the combination latch and bolt, with door 10 in closed 7 position against stationary frame member 11, the latch bar 19 may be shifted to the left as indicated in Figure 3 and, if locking is desired, the hasp of the padlock 47 may be inserted in the locking hole 43. As seen in Figures 2 and 3, the spring 41 prevents any unwanted shifting of latch bar 19 by accidental disengagement of the notches 40 or 42. However, as indicated by the arrow 47 in Figure 4, the spring 41 may be displaced toward the door so as to permit disengagement of latch bar 19 and shifting from one notch to the other. 7

In Figure 5, the door 10 is viewed from the outer side and door frame 11a is shown in the process of construction from masonry, such as hollow concrete block. The

catch member 16 is not readily attached to concrete blocks or other masonry by means of nails or screws but may be bolted to a bracket 50, which is inserted between successive blocks as they are being laid up into the door frame. The bracket 50 is provided at each end with mounting flanges 51 and 52 which are oriented in diiferent ways so that either end of bracket 50 may be used for mounting catch member 16. As seen in Figure 5, flange members 52 are inside a concrete block and serve as an anchoring means to prevent shifting of bracket under the repeated shocks of slamming engagement of latch bar 19 with the face of striker plate 23.

In its preferred form, the latch of this invention is mounted on doors or gates swinging about a hinge with a vertical axis, and latch bar 15? relies upon gravity for its operation. However, the same latch may be used on doors which swing about oblique or horizontal hinge axes, provided that a spring is used to replace the force of gravity on the latch bar 19 and urge it in a counterclockwise direction, as viewed in Figure 1, so that it tends to drop into catch notch 21 While only a preferred form of the invention has been shown and described, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the particular form or arrangement of parts described and shown, except a limited in the claim.

We claim: 7

A door securing means of the class described, adapted to be mounted on a door and to cooperate with a keeper mounted on a door frame, the securing means being selectively usable as a latch and as a bolt, and including: a latch supporting assembly for mounting on a door near its swinging edge and adjacent said keeper; a latch bar supported in said latch supporting assembly, said bar having a fiat rectangular cross section and twisted at a point intermediate its end to provide a horizontally dis-' posed lever section pivotally engaged in said latch supporting assembly to swing said latch bar in a plane normal tov its direction of motion with said door, and a vertically disposed latching section extending beyond the swinging edge of said door, adapted to engage said keeper;'a guide plate on said latch supporting assembly with a vertically extended guide notch for guiding the vertical swinging movement of said latching section of said latch bar; a fulcrum plate on said latch supporting assembly provided with a horizontally extended fulcrum slot to provide a fulcrum point for said lever section of said latch bar; formed edge walls in the edge of said lever section of said latch bar farthest from said door, said edge walls providing two locating notches spaced longitudinally from each other on said lever section a distance corresponding to the longitudinal shift in said latch bar between latching position and bolting position; spring means in said latching assembly contacting the edge of said lever section opposite to said notched edge and urging said notched edge into engagement with surrounding portions of said fulcrum plate so as to lock said latch bar in longitudinal position with respect to one of said locating notches; and walls, in said lever section of said latch bar forming a hasp receiving hole between said pair of notches to provide means for locking said latch bar in a bolting position by means of an ordinary padlock.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS mm. a 

